Surprise: there's never been a better moment to bootstrap your own Internet business. All you need is a laptop, a broadband connection and a great idea. Inside the new start-up boom

Founder John Tayman, second from left, with designer David Albertson, left, and developer Nick Hodulik

It's time to stop whining. The economy might be melting down like a pat of butter on a hot Hummer roof, but for some people  you, maybe?  this could be a very good thing.

Here's why. At no other time in recent history has it been easier or cheaper to start a new kind of company. Possibly a very profitable company. Let's call these start-ups LILOs, for "a little in, a lot out." These are Web-based businesses that cost almost nothing to get off the ground yet can turn into great moneymakers (if you work hard and are patient,...